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The Taliban Shuffle
The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan | Kim Barker
Now a Major Motion Picture titled Whiskey Tango Foxtrot starring Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Alfred Molina, and Billy Bob Thornton. When Kim Barker first arrived in Kabul as a journalist in 2002, she barely owned a passport, spoke only English and had little idea how to do the "Taliban Shuffle" between Afghanistan and Pakistan. No matter--her stories about Islamic militants and shaky reconstruction were soon overshadowed by the bigger news in Iraq. But as she delved deeper into Pakistan and Afghanistan, her love for the hapless countries grew, along with her fear for their future stability. In this darkly comic and unsparing memoir, Barker uses her wry, incisive voice to expose the absurdities and tragedies of the "forgotten war," finding humor and humanity amid the rubble and heartbreak.
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Cinfhen
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Pickpick

#Pakistan through the eyes of Kim Barker was the epitome of the wild Wild West in 2008/2009. A place full of absurdities and unseen dangers. Like her experiences in Afghanistan, Kim often found herself in both ridiculous and reckless situations. I thought this book was a little on the lite side but still compelling and entertaining. Happy I picked this up for #FoodAndLit @Texreader @Butterfinger Audio was great 😊 #OverDrive

Megabooks Sounds interesting! 3y
Butterfinger Great review!! 3y
Cinfhen Thanks @Butterfinger @TheAromaofBooks I think you‘d might get annoyed with Kim @Megabooks or you might be entirely entertained, like I was. Memoir was made into a movie starting Tina Fey: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (FYI) 3y
85 likes5 comments
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Cinfhen
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Just finished the first half of “this is too crazy, it has to be true” memoir, of Kim Barker‘s time spent in Afghanistan as a field reporter in the years following Bush‘s war on the Taliban. It‘s more my crazy expat life than an in-depth investigative journal, but I‘m enjoying it. “The Taliban was basically a flexible cast of characters who were replaced with a new flexible cast of characters daily.” Up next, Part 2: #Pakistan #FoodAndLit

TrishB Sounds interesting! 3y
Cinfhen It‘s more entertaining than actually informative but I like it @TrishB The memoir was made into a movie called Whiskey Tango Foxtrot 3y
See All 8 Comments
SamAnne Kim Barker crashed my wedding. 😂😂😂 3y
Cinfhen Really @SamAnne that‘s CRAZZZZY!! Did you even know who she was??? 3y
SamAnne @Cinfhen She worked with my ex-husband who also was a journalist . She and a few others not invited crashed. It was fine. This was more than 20 years ago. I‘m glad she‘s had so much success. 3y
Cinfhen That‘s cool - sorry about the ex-husband 😜😘 3y
TheAromaofBooks Sounds intriguing!! 3y
68 likes8 comments
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Cinfhen
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Bailed on my previous #Pakistan #FoodAndLit book and trying this one instead. The motion picture Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is based off of this memoir & So far it‘s holding my attention. Kim Barker, a war correspondent finds herself ensconced in the middle of a major war story with little job experience and even less knowledge of the Taliban. This is also my #DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

I‘ve read a few war corespondent books now, and this was the most unique...not only does she cover the war zones of Afghanistan & Pakistan, but she also writes about the absurdities of the Americans working there & the missteps many made in dealing with these countries. From bombings to toga parties, the Taliban to karaoke in brothels, having colleagues kidnapped to being hit on by local leaders, this book is so honest you wish it was fiction.⤵️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa As she says in the credits, “If comedy is tragedy plus time, time has been compressed into minutes in that part of the world.” And it shows in this book that will make you laugh as you shake your head at it all and mourn our missteps. Originally published as The Taliban Shuffle, then republished as Whiskey Tango Foxtrot after a movie by the same name. 4y
TrishB Great review 👍🏻 4y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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I‘ve read a few books by war corespondents in the last few years, but I‘m finding myself smiling at this one in very odd places.

KVanRead 😂 I‘m laughing right now because my dog is lying next to me stinking up the place ATM. I actually really need to be a ‘dog washer‘ but I so don‘t feel like it😂😂🤣 4y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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😂 sorry, this made me laugh! The toughest guys, who we‘ve in many cases treated horribly...and their English curses make me laugh.

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Totally the same! 😂

I‘m sure her fellow Montanans would feel much better knowing that.

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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The original title of this book (before the movie) was The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan and I can see why as we sent a bunch of people who knew almost nothing about the region and it‘s history to cover our new wars.

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Jari-chan
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Pickpick

After watching the movie I really wanted to read this book, even though I read quite a lot of bad reviews. Now that I'm finished with Barkers book I can say: I agree to disagree.

I learned so much about Afghanistan and Pakistan through that book, that I now have a clearer picture of those countries and what's going on there. I enjoyed how Barker wrote about the people she meets.

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Avanders
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Yay we received our #ReadtheMovies matches!! I realized my info isn't particularly helpful, esp bc I couldn't provide a pic of my movies bc they're all in books! (And I have kind of a lot...). So, here're are some that id like! But in general, if it not in my goodreads read/to-read-owned lists, then it's fair game! ☺️☺️ 📚🎥

Crewgurl ❤️ This is Where I Leave You 6y
Avanders @Crewgurl ooh good to know! 👏🏽👏🏽 6y
89 likes3 comments
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rjsthumbelina
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And...just as I was supposed to see the doctor, she got called into delivery. So now I see if I can wait as long as she is gone - to think I rushed to get here on time!

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Clwojick
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Time to finally start this one.

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Read4life
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Read & finished this one for #litsypartyofone

Now I need to see the movie.

hermyknee Tina Fey 😻 7y
60 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Joriebooks
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A #booknbath tonight! 🛀📚🛀📚🛀📚
#Lush #BathBomb

athorne I have lavender bubble bath and a new kindle that just came in for tonight. :D 7y
60 likes1 comment
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Joriebooks
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#bookmail came today and yesterday! I think I'm most excited for Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. I loved the movie. 📬📚📬📚📬😍😍😍

Megabooks 🎉🎉🎉🎉📚 8y
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bookishbitch
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I am incapable of leaving a bookstore empty handed. #sorrynotsorry

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Canadian.Reads
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Pickpick

???/5. I struggled to get through parts of this mostly because of my general lack of knowledge about the events in Pakistan (or as Barker calls it "Whak-istan" which seemed fitting) and Afghanistan that she covers. That said, this book was a good lesson in what foreign journalists go through when covering war zones and Barker writes with wit and humour despite the terrifying nature of her work.

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lisakoby
Pickpick

A fascinating read about the war and the interconnection between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and how and where the West gets it wrong. Barker's training as journalist shows in the clear fact based account of her time but I didn't feel her emotional connection to Afghanistan. Her world was her job, and the network of expats. She says that foreigners could live in Kabul with minimal contact with Afghans, and that's clearly true. Worth the read.

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lisakoby
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The author was on the ground for some unbelievable events...

#nonfiction

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Loreen
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Mini book haul.

MrBook Nice! 8y
GuiltyFeat Love Shoeless Joe. Enjoy. 8y
19 likes2 comments
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Books4brittany
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Mehso-so

I was not a fan, although this is not a genre I usually prefer. This book wasn't terrible, but it wasn't terribly interesting either. It was less a cool war story and more of a political backstory for Pakistan and Afghanistan from 2001-2009 with a couple (2-3) dark chuckles and deep insights. Just not my cup of tea I guess.

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Books4brittany
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Can you guess what I'm doing tonight 🤓📖❤️

Sdunbar Me too! Also I was just gonna ask how this book is? What is the time period, based off the movie trailers, I'm guessing recent? 8y
Books4brittany Eh so far it's kind of dull. Just following her in her life, but at 100 pages in still nothing that interesting. It starts in 2001, and I'm currently at 2006, not sure what time frame it'll stop. 8y
MrBook Counting your seashell collection AGAIN! Followed by making homemade chocolate chip cookies and painting a portrait of Dick Van Dyke? 8y
Books4brittany @MrBook 😂😂😂👍 8y
MrBook 😎👍🏻 Darn I'm good! 8y
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Books4brittany
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This seems so oddly familiar to our current social media that it gave me a chill when reading it.

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reneeannbutler
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Pickpick

Taliban Shuffle.. I highly recommend this book. Barker is well-spoken and pithy, the book is entertaining and informative. I'm enjoying Barker's writing style and storytelling ability as well as learning more about Afghanistan.

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DaniRa
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Mehso-so

I would actually prefer a button between so so and pick. I liked it but didn't love it. It was a good book, well written but I think the hype and the movie hype killed it for me. There were some parts I chuckled but didn't find it hilarious really. Still recommend to anyone interested in nonfiction

ForestAvenuePress I agree! So-so is kind of negative and I often want to give a book a good rating but not the highest rating. 8y
3 likes1 comment
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ahngelahh
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I finished this a couple months ago--read it to fulfill my yearly minimum commitment to read one non-fiction book a year. Barker is funny and smart. Reading her memoir was an entertaining reminder that even the most coveted jobs aren't all they're cracked up to be.

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writemeg
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Lunchtime reading on a gorgeous day. About halfway through this memoir and waiting for it to pick up a bit...

AvidReader25 I've been curious about this one. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! 9y
14 likes1 stack add1 comment
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KarenaFagan
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Pickpick

Really interesting. I know Tina Fey screwed the casting in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, but this definitely was a good source for a movie.

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KarenaFagan
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Giving this a try. #nonfictionbinge

1 like1 stack add